After the convenience of living close to work, church, stores and all that, one of the things I like best about my neighborhood is how neighborly it is. I know almost everyone on my block and several people up and down all the surrounding streets. We wave. We chat. We stop by and visit.

All this friendliness is facilitated by our voluntary neighborhood association. It is through being part of our association that we have met our neighbors and joined in neighborhood progressive dinners, clean-ups, play groups and all sorts of other activities. Now it is almost time for one of the two biggest activities our neighborhood association does -- a neighborhood tour.

Thanks to a grant from the Mayor's office last year, we were able to pull off a tour and raise enough funds to continue having tours and to do more neighborhood projects along the way. So here comes the second annual tour.

I think it's a cool way to get a peek into some of the houses I haven't seen the insides of, but it is also nifty to work together as a neighborhood and be able to say "We're growing, rejuvenating and bringing life back to a old area that had fallen way, way down. Come see!"

You won't find my house on the tour, but I'll be working at someone else's home in the morning. If anyone happens to be in Nashville on April 23, buy a ticket -- they are only $5 -- come tour my neighborhood and say hello. You won't be disappointed